As spring marathon and half marathon training gets underway for many runners, Heather welcomes elite runner and coach Luke Humphrey to the Michigan Runner Girl show to talk about his books Hansons Marathon Method and Hansons Half Marathon Method. {Click on the player above to listen to this episode}

Runners who follow the plan often achieve personal best times — sometimes huge PRs — given the method’s unconventional approach (one example: the longest run in the marathon plan is 16 miles, not the traditional 20 or 22). Luke explains in detail how the method’s combination of “smart science with proven practice” makes all the difference. You’ll hear about the importance of “cumulative fatigue” and how you learn to train hard and consistently by following the plan, resulting in a strong performance on race day. As a member of the elite training team, he’s been a longtime follower himself: “That’s the beauty of it — I’ve done this system for 12 years and it’s gotten me down to 2:14 [in the marathon] and the only difference is I’m doing more mileage. But the philosophy and the training is the exact thing. I am doing the same workouts, the same everything. It’s a volume program, it’s a strength program, it’s definitely going to make you stronger.”

Luke also shares his own personal running journey, which began in high school and continued at Central Michigan University. He has qualified for three Olympic trials in the marathon — in 2008, 2012 and 2016 — and has a personal best marathon finish time of 2:14:38.

Photo courtesy Greg Sadler Photography

Luke also answers reader questions during the show; Heather had put a call-out for questions on the Michigan Runner Girl Facebook page. Thanks for all the great questions, everyone! Interested in learning more about this training method and connecting with Luke and athletes following this method? Check out the Hansons Coaching Community Page on Facebook here » This is a closed group, with about 1,500 members currently, but is open to anyone interested in this training method; simply ask to join.

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“The Michigan Runner Girl tank is amazing! It was super comfortable and I love the open back pocket for my fuel. I proudly wore it for a PR in the half marathon!”— Jennifer Smigielski, Michigan Runner Girl who rocked out the Detroit Women’s Half Marathon this September.